Mining-machine.



E. R. MERRILL.

MINING MACHINE; APPLICATION FILED NOV. 30, 1897.

1 ,()73,27 1 Patented Sept. 16, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

E. R..MERRILL. MINING MACHINE;

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 30. 1897.

1,073,271. Patented Sept. 16,1Q13.

3 SEEETSSHEET 2.

% 1 @WWW a V f d ywfcifl B R. MERRILL.

MINING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 30, 1897.

L ,g7 Patented Sept. 16, 1913.

3 SHEETS-SHEET L l l call-mush .71 Zlorney EDWIN REUEL MERRILL, or COLUMBUS, OHIO, nssmnon, BY mnsnn nssremannrs,

TO THE JEFFREY MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

HINII VG-IEACEINE.

specificatien of Letters Patent. P t t Sept 1913, Application filed November 30, 1897. Serial No,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Eowm REUEL MER- RILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements Mining- Machines; and I do declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which'it appertains to make and use-the same, reference being bad to the accompanying .drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a partof this specification.

' The principal object of the invention is to provide in a longwall mining machine of the class shown and described improved mechanism for adjusting the cutter Inechanism with respect to the frame angularly about a transverse axis.

following specification and claims.

of a mining, machine embodying my improvements. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3'is an elevation site side of, the machine from that shown 1n;Fig. 2. 1g. 4 is an end elevation. Fig. are a transverse ivertical sect-ion through the cutter-actuating devices, on a slightly reduced scale. Figs. '6 to 14 are detail views oflthe cutter wheel.

In the drawings, A, A,

designate the longitudinal side bars of th e main frame,

which may be formed ofv angle iron, or any other suitable material, and are connected at their forward ends by a cross bar, A The main frame thus formedis adapted to support and carry a cutter-wheel, C, a motor,D, and gearing for"driving the cutter wheel from the motor; and in order that the cutter may move longitudinallyalong the face of the coal,'said frame is provided-with suitable guiding and supporting wheels.

11 the embodiment of my invention, herein. illustrated, two guiding and supporting wheels, E, E, are'providerhthey being arrangedin-the same longitudinalline at one transversely, of the said frame, and arranged to travel upon a single uide rail F which is arran ed u on the g 9 b floor of the room in which the machine is operated. Preferably-these wheels, E, E, arearranged as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, that shown particularly fis not cylindrical, Of the drawings Figure 1 is a plan view;

idly bolted to the of the oppolike plate 0 provided with a at E being situated near the forward end of the machine, and mounted on asuitable axle journaled in the main frame, and the other wheel, E, being mounted between ears or lugs, e, projecting r'earwardly fromthe rear wall of a casing, F, mounted upon and connecting the rearends ofithe aforesaid side bars, A, A. 4 Y T The cutter wheel, C, is carried by a laterally projecting arm, or plate, C, which at its inner end is rigidly secured -to or formed integral with a sleeve, G, which is secured to the side provided with a portion which extends inwardly, transversely of the machine, as in Fig. 5. As shown, this sleeve, G, is provided at its outer end, with an enlarged portion, G, which serves as a casing for a portion of the gearing by which the cutter wheel is rotated, and which {will be hereinafter more particularly de- Other objects willbe apparent from the scribed. Theforward enlarged portion, and is provided at its lower edge with a horizontal laterally and forwardly projecting flange, g, which is rigplate 0. j I The cutter wheel, C, is formed of a ring series of gear teeth, 0, upon its upper face, and with a series of peripheral sockets in which are fitted the cutter bits, C said bits being held rigidly in their respective sockets by means of set screws, 0 This ring like plate, o,

of the casing, F, and

is provided with a central hub, 0' which is;

fitted about a stud, H, rigidly secured to and depending from the plate C; and the cutter wheel is supported bottom guard plate, C whichis connected to the plate or arm, C,by means :of bolts, c With the gear teeth,'c, meshes a gear, H, a

which issecuredto a shaft, H journaled or mounted in the aforesaid sleeve, G, and provided at its inner end with a driving, bevel, Hie suitable aperture being formed in the lower wall of the G, of said sleeve,

Power is transmitted from to the bevel wheel H and, by the devices last described, to the cutter wheelas follows:

D designates a armature shaft of the motor, and said pin- 1011' meshes with a gear, D mountedona vertically by means vof a.

enlarged portion, to permit the teeth of the -wheel, H, to engagewith those at c. the motor, D,

pinion secured upon the I its rear end with a bevel pinion, D which ,wardly andrearwardly projecting lugs, 71, i,

lever, K

to form the loop-like terminal, 70

'Ineshes with the aforesaid bevel gear, H

The motor D is provided with suitable current controlling devices (Z, arranged as shown.

As it is frequently necessary that the angle of the cutter wheel, 0, to the floor upon which the machine is restingshould be varied, in order, for example, that the said wheel may be properly'guided about any "mass of material which may be in its path and of such nature as not to be cut by the cutters, I have provided the following described devices for readily adjusting said wheel to any'desired angle.

The sleeve, G, G is provided'with foreach having formed therein a guide slot, 2

. extending concentric with the axis of the shaft H Through these guide slots, 4 extend the bolts, i by which the. sleeve, G, G, and the cutter wheel are secured to the casing, F. The forwardly projecting ear or is connected with one end of a which is fulcrumed at, 72, upon the side of the motor, D, and has at its forward end. a toothed segment, k extending concentric with the pivot, 72, and to points above and below the lever arm. With the teeth on the segment, k engages a pinion, L, mounted on a shaft, L, which is journaled in bearings on the side bars, A, A, and provided with a worm wheel, L By turning the said wheel, L it will be seen that the forward end of the lever, K, will be raised or lowered as desired, and thereby the cut,- ter wheel, and its supporting parts will be rocked vertically in vertical longitudinal lanes, the guide slots, 2' being of such ength as to permit this movement. Preferably the rear end of the lever, K, is expanded and withare mounted coiled springs,

flange, z,

in this part, 0

' 7c, the inner adjacent ends of which bear 1 extends around a pulle'y, O,

'nected with a post or upr1ght,

upon opposite sides of the bolt, 70*, by which the lever, K, and ear or lug, 2', are connected.

0 move the machine longitudinally of its su 'orting track along the face ofthe coal, I preferably employ a rope or cable, M. One

1 end of the cable or rope is provided with an eye or loop, m, adapted to engage with a hook, a secured to the side bar, A, at its forward end. From such hook, a, the cable which is con O', held rig- ,idly' by any suitable means at the desired distance 'in advance of the machine when beginning its out, and the other end of the cable is connected with a winding drum, P, mounted upon the forward portion ofthe main frame. This drum, P, is positively driven by the following devices. On the shaft, H, betweenthe bevel Wheel, 1-1, and

the inner end of the sleeve, G, is secured a pinion, Q, which meshes with a gear wheel, C1,, mounted on a shaft, Q extending parallel to the shaft, H This shaft carries on the outer side of the machine an eccentric, -Q This reciprocates a slide'rod, R, in a guide at, 1-, being joined thereto by a connecting rod, 7*. The slide rod is at the other end oined to a connecting rod or pitman,

R, which is pivoted to a pawl carrier, R

S 1s a ratchet wheel on ashaft at s extending transversely of the machine at its forward end. j I

r is the pawl supported on the carrier,

R the latter being hinged at the axis of the ratchet wheel, S. The shaft 8, carries a pinion, S',which drives the winding drum, P, through the gear wheel, T, the .drum being mounted on a shaft parallel to that at s. The-ratchet wheel, S, is provided with rela- 35 tively small teeth, smallenough to insure sufficient strength at all times, and so as to provide for a variation in the speed of the advance of the machine.

T is a bar held in the line of the pawl, 1'

and adapted to be adjusted to one position or another, and to be fastenedby a clamping screw, 25. The bar, T, can be moved forward far enough to allow the pawl to engage with the fourth tooth (for instance,

backward from its rearmost position) and at such time the rope will have greater lengths taken up at each stroke of the eccentric, Q Or the bar, T, can be so adjusted the third tooth back, orthe second, or the first, in each such instance the distance of advance of the carrier will be relatively shorter at each stroke of the eccentric. Or

the adjusting bar, T", can be pushed rear- 5 ward so. far as to hold thepawl out; of engagement entirely withthe wheel, and stop the advance of the carrier even when the motor-is in action.

The parts of. the be seen, are arranged so as to insure the covering of short dimensions "in all directions in which space is limited in mines worked on the long wall plan. That is to say, 'the present and narrow. Inoperating it, after lthas been once set in position and-the feeding cable has been engaged with a properly supported stationary wheel or guide in advance of the machine, itpis, merely necessary forone -'ofthe operators to accompany the machine at the front end to' see that the cutting wheel is revolving in the right planes, and to adjust it, if necessary, i

the wormwheel, L and the'125- by means of lever, K, and for an assisting operator to followthe machine for-the purpose of picking up each successive'section of thev trapk, F, and advancing the latter-past the machine overor by the outer side of-it) to the 130 that the pawl, 1*, shall engage with above machine, it will 1 machine is exceedingly low 15 practically, 12'0- one in {frontwhd' places it"in rotes ants-n suitable bearings, L

"screw or bolt, 0

s g the cutter-wheel which is adjustable around presented for applying a short lever or nearly 1n the transverse,

the mines wh shaft L, This clamp can be Pamaware" of the fact that 'tliefadjustment of the cutter wheehj'broadl 1 considered,"" ha's' gbeen heretofore proposed 5 But there'sults or 'pract icahu'se' of such afma chinehas led me to devise the means herein powerful leverage to the carrier of the cutter Wheel when it is desired tocompel it to alter its path; the devices for this purpose having consisted of a plate with a rack and pinion in vertical, planes of the cutter, and requiring that the operator should have access to the outer side of the machinein such transverse planes of the wheel. This is generally very diflicult in v ere such machines are used, because of the posting, and the piling of the refuse up to a vertical plane close to the coal face. With the present machine the operator can make all such adjustments from the frontend, and at a distance from the cutter wheel.

The arrangement of the motor herein shown assists in attaining these ends, that is providing long leverage for the adjusting of the cutterwheel and powerful devices, near the front end of the machine, and at a distance from the center. i

The worm wheel L is actuated by a worm, L mountedon a shaft, L supported in L and having at its forward end a hand wheel, L By turning the latter it will be seen that motion is transmitted to the wheel L and that the cutterwheel can be adjusted with'these devices. The worm and'worm wheel form a lock for holding the wheel in after adjustment. But locking action I arriage wheels when they to supplement this employ a clamp for the forming one of the bearings, as that at L", in two parts, and providing themwith a whereby they can be tightly drawn togetherand grip the shaft to prevent its slipping from the locked posit tion.

It will be seen that in the present machine a horizontal axis can be regarded as being supplied with a lever which is rigid with it. To this lever is pivoted the vibrating lever, K, and the latter can be arranged in such manner as to consume but little space, The motor is arranged in front of the cutter driving gearing, the adjusting devices.

for the wheel carrier are in front of the motor, the carriage advancing devices are in front arrangement brings the several devices-within easy access and the manual devices for controlling the motor, adjusting the cutter wheel carrier, and varying the rate of feed,

its proper position provided by I of the wheel adjusting devices. This ."d at theuhiidliifidtidiere 9 Et el-" i e Assesses? eneat 1 are carri ge, sqthatnthe outer.,.-pqrt,10n,- the ge'fwill "serve' to counterbalancetli cutter-wheel, both of-which are adapted to vibrate or rock bodily around the supportmg wheels on the track.

By reference to Figs. 5 and 14, it will be seen that the stud, H, about which the cutter-wheel, C, revolves, is provided with a central oil chamber or receptacle, h, from which lead a series of distributing ducts, it. Two concentric spacing rings, 0 a", are also interposed within thehub, 0 between the plates C, 0*.

In addition to the support above described for the cutter wheel, namely, that afforded by the plates, Ct, C and the bolts, cficonnecting the same, one or more depending lugs 0, may be provided on the plate, C, the projecting portions of said lugs extending beneath a flange or ring, ciwhich is fastened to the body part of the wheel, 0, as shown in Figs. 5 and 14.

What I claim is 1. In a side cut or long wall mining machine, the combination of a carriage, a cutter wheel projecting laterally from the carriage, a carrier for the wheel adjustable relatively to the carriage on a transverse horizontal .axis, and a train of devices for adjusting said carrier, the said train havmg a flexible spring controlled connection between two elements thereof through which power for operating the carrier is applied, substantially as set forth.

2. In a side cut or lon wall mining machine, the combination of a carriage, a cutter wheel projecting laterally from thecarriage, a carrier for the wheel adjustable relatively to the carriage about a transverse horizontal axis, a lever rigidly connected to the wheel carrier, a supplemental lever flexibly connected to the rigid lever for adjusting the wheel carrier, and means for controlling said supplemental lever, substantially as set forth.

3. In a side cut or long Wall mining machine, the-combination of a carriage, a Wheelprojecting laterally from the carriage, a carrier for the wheel adjustable around a transversehorizontal axis, a lever flexibly connected to the Wheel carrier, and "power devices accessible at the front end of the machine for operating said lever and adjusting the Wheel carrier, substantially as set forth.

4:. In a side cut or. long wall mining machine, the combination of a carriage, a cutter wheel projecting laterally from the carriage, a Wheel carrier adjustable around a horizontal axis, a lever flexibly connected to the wheel carrier, a rack and-'pinion-connected to said lever'for operating it, and -means for'o'perating said rack and pinion, substantially as set forth.

{5. In a side out or long wall mining ma-; chine, the combmation of a carnage, a

cutter .wheel projecting laterally from the carriage,

varound a horizontal axis,

' .on a longitudinal line between the longitudicutter wheel, and means in J lever to adjust the cutter wheel carrier,

.seated in said recess,

nal median lines of the-motor and of the front of the motor comprising a worm for actuating said stantially as set forth.

6. In a side out or long wall mining machine, the combination of a carriage, a cutter wheel projecting laterally from the carriage, an adjustable cutter Wheel carrier having a sleeve G, a inotor' in front of the cutter wheel, adjusting devices for the carrier in front" of the motor, supports for said machine arranged on a longitudinal line between the longitudinal median lines of the moton and of the cutter Wheel, anclcarriage moving devices in front of the said cutter wheel carrier tially as set forth. 7.

7. In'amachine of the class described, the combination with a cutter wheel, and a supporting armor plate C, of'a tubular hub H having its upper end fitted in a n aperture in said plate, a relatively small plate C engagiiig with the lower 'end of said hub and rigidly secured to the plate C, two concentric spacing rings 0? and 0 arranged about the" hub between said' plates C and C, a cutter wheel having a ring-like body which extends fitted to said ring c /and provided with a wheel and extending inwardly beyond the said recess in its upper surface, and a lug-c depending. from the plate C and adapted toengage wlth the under side of the said ring 0*, substantially as set forth.

- 8. In a m ning machine, a lateral cutter 'wheel having a horizontal axis of; adjust-,-

cutter Wheel adjusting devices, substan-' between said plates and is and with .an ancutter wheel, an adjusting lever, a yielding ment combined with a train of devices adjusting the wheel around. said axis, the said train having a flexible spring controlled connection between two elements thereof. through which power rier is applied, substantially as set forth. I

9; ,In a mining machine, the combination of a carriage, a laterally projecting cutter -wheel, a carrier for the cutter wheel adapted,

to turn about a horizontal axis transverse of the carriage, and a train of devices for adusting sald carr1er',-the said train having a spring interposed between two of the ele-' ments thereof, whereby the, said carrier'is yieldinglycontrolled, substantially as set forth. t I

10. The combination of'a'frameor bed, means for supporting andguidingthe bed along the ground, a laterally projecting cutter Wheel, an adjustable carrier for sai lever connected to said cutter wheel carrier, device connected to said lever for actuating it, and means supplemental to the lever and to its adjusting devices said cutter'wheel carrier positions of adjustment. 11. In a machine of the combination of a main frame, means'for supporting and guiding the frame, a laterally projecting cutter wheel,-an adjustable cutter carrier, fastening devices for securing said-critter wheel carrier in-either'of several positions of adjustment, an" adjusting lever independent of said 'fasteningfdevices and connected to the said c utter lever in eithegof several positions.

12. In a long wall mmingmachine, combination with a carriage, projecting-laterally from the carriagegand a cutter wheel carrier adjustable abouta hori zontal axis transverse of the carriage, :of a

posed between said'lever and said cutter wheel carrier, and-meansfor' actuating said lever.

In testimony whereof, I aliix my signature, 1n presence of two wltnesses.

EDWIN BEUEL ERRI L.

Witnesses: F. E.-GoL'roN, J No. 'J R ILLY.

for

for adjusting the carwheel carrier; and means for actuating and locking said at a cutter wheel a Power apply ng 1 forfastening the in either. of several the class described, I

connecting v device nterv 

